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BALTIMORE – The Northeastern men's basketball team booked a place in its second CAA championship game in the last three years with a 78-71 win over No. 2 UNCW in the conference semifinals on Sunday before a crowd of 3,703 at Royal Farms Arena. 

In a game featuring five ties and nine lead changes, two of the CAA's four co-champions went wire-to-wire in a tightly-contested heavyweight bout. The Seahawks (18-13) led, 47-46, with 12:30 remaining, before a 13-6 Northeastern run gave the Huskies (22-11) a lead they would not relinquish.

The story of the game was the play of the Northeastern bench, which accounted for 33 points, including 11 points apiece from senior Reggie Spencer, redshirt junior Caleb Donnelly and freshman Devon Begley. The trio joined Scott Eatherton (21 points) and junior David Walker (11 points) in double-figure scoring as the Huskies snapped a three-game losing streak at the hands of UNCW.

Walker became the 34th Husky to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau for his career when he sank an early 3-pointer–the 146th of his career–to set the tone for Northeastern. Walker also added eight rebounds and five assists, while Eatherton added five rebounds and three blocks. 

The Huskies sank 17 of 21 free throws (81 percent), including a 7-for-9 effort from Eatherton, and improved to 12-0 on the year when scoring 70 points or more. 

Northeastern out-rebounded UNCW, 34-23, and pulled down 12 offensive boards which led to a 14-2 advantage in second-chance points. 

Jordon Talley led the Seahawks with 18 points, while Craig Ponder and Addison Spruill added 17 and 12 points, respectively. 

The Huskies hit seven 3-pointers in the game (7-for-14), led by a 3-for-6 performance from Walker. Ponder also sank three triples as UNCW finished 8-for-17 from beyond the arc (47 percent) and 26 of 54 (48.1 percent) from the field. 

Northeastern shot marginally better at 48.2 percent (27-for-56) and committed just two second-half turnovers against the aggressive Seahawks' press.

Begley asserted himself early in the first half, driving to the rack for a layup, plus the foul, to tie the score at 8-8 at the 14:26 mark.

Northeastern took a brief lead at 13-12 with 11:34 remaining in the frame following a tip-in by Quincy Ford (eight points), but UNCW responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Freddie Jackson to make it 18-13 Seahawks. 

A triple by Dylan Sherwood pushed UNCW's edge to 30-25 with 2:36 remaining, before an 8-0 Northeastern run–capped by a 3-pointer from Walker–helped the Huskies take a 33-30 lead into halftime.

The teams traded leads in the second half with UNCW leading by as many as three, 43-40, with 15 minutes remaining. 

Begley again rose to the occasion with a 3-pointer from the left wing to tie the game, before Spencer rattled off seven straight points for NU to give the Huskies a 50-47 edge with 11 minutes to play.

After UNCW pulled within two at 55-53, Donnelly took a pass from Walker in transition and hit a pull-up jumper from the right wing to help the Huskies establish some breathing room on the scoreboard.

Donnelly then drained another huge triple with 1:07 remaining to stretch the lead to six, 73-67, before knocking down three late free throws to seal the victory for Northeastern.

The Huskies will battle the Tribe on Monday at 7 p.m. on NBCSN for the CAA championship. The winner will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. 

Game Notes
• Northeastern advanced to its second CAA championship game in the last three years (2013).
• NU earned its 22nd win of the season for the first time since 1990-91 (22-11). 
• Head coach Bill Coen earned his 100th career win in CAA play (regular season plus conference tournament).
• NU snapped a three-game losing streak against UNCW.
• The Huskies won two games at a CAA tournament for the first time since 2006.
• Northeastern's bench outscored UNCW's bench, 33-10.
• NU improved to 7-0 on the year when Devon Begley scores six points or more.
• NU improved to 12-0 when scoring 70 points or more this season.
• NU improved to 18-4 when out-rebounding its opponent this season.
• Walker scored his 1,000th point in the first half to become the 34th Husky to reach the milestone in program history.
• Walker scored in double-figures for the 10th straight game.
• Eatherton surpassed 1,500 career points (1,506) with a game-high 21 points. 
• Eatherton has 991 career points in a Northeastern uniform.
• Spencer has 984 career points in a Northeastern uniform.
• Donnelly scored in double-figures for the second time this season (Dec. 20 at Santa Clara).
• The Huskies will look to earn their first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1991, and their eighth trip to the Big Dance in program history.

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